Sunday, March 15, 2009

I'm relatively new to the blog world; however, for a couple of years now, I've been reading a mom blog called, Rocks in My Dryer. I know, I don't have kids. But I am most attracted to authors with strong writing voices, and Rocks has herself quite a voice. It was from one of her posts that I started investigating Etsy, the online store for all things handmade. If you've never been there, I highly recommend you check it out. It can be overwhelming, so I Etsy in small doses, but I have found great gifts on there, and I have received great Etsy gifts, too. Today I want to highlight one Etsy store in particular that I found through the Rocks in My Dryer blog.

The Vintage Pearl is handcrafted jewelry and other cute items that are mostly a mixture of hand stamped silver and pearls. I bought the I Love You To The Moon and Back necklace as a thank you gift for my grandma, and I bought the Hand Stamped Baby Spoon as a gift for a coworker's new baby girl. I especially liked the ease of the baby spoon--it was cute, customized, within my budget, and I didn't have to worry about it matching anything my coworkers had already bought for their nursery or whether or not it was their preferred baby brand. The necklace was an even bigger hit. It sums up the relationship I have with my grandma (something that is not always easy to put into words), and I've heard reports she wears it to church. If it passes the Sunday morning test, then you know it's of tremendous quality!

As far as customer service goes, ordering and paying for the item through Etsy was very easy, and I communicated with the Vintage Pearl owner via email about the name on the spoon. I received both of my items in great shape and on time. And, even though I'm a native Texan, all of my family except for me has spent some time living in Oklahoma. The Vintage Pearl headquarters are in Tulsa, so I'm more than happy (and probably a little biased) to support a girl out there in the wavin' wheat.